Ducks in a row....

My goal for 2012 was to post 100 posts. This is my 100th post. So, next year will be....well more than that. So what are your goals? Do you want to try something new? End something? 

A new year a new look!

It's a new year and we are going for a new look. Soooooo what do you think?

Snow and oaks

The snow lingers in the shadow of the oaks.

Carolina Chickadee, your go to bird

 This Chickadee is 4.75"-5".  In Oklahoma they are here year round.

 

Where there are Chickadees you will often see the Tufted Titmouse. On the day this photo was taken....yesterday...there were Tufted Titmice hang with them.

 So what do Chickadees eat? They eat a variety of food including seeds (they love black oil sunflower seeds), nuts, fruits, insects and will even visit your suet feeders.

So when it comes to cute birds....Chickadees are your go to bird!

Photographing snowflakes, it's a beautiful thing.

 

 

 

It snowed today. I did not even know it was going to snow. I always carry my camera with me sooooooo I went outside and started taking photos. As you see I caught some snowflakes.

 

 

The snowflake near the center is melting. 

Christmas bird count

We are so excited! We got our quad assignment for the Christmas bird count. We will do the count then turn in our bird count numbers. This info along with all the other bird counts are passed on to the scientists...ornithologist...They track populations and distribution of birds. Anyway...this means more photos for me! Oh yes!

Edward Harris

Here is a photo of Edward Harris.

The Harris’s Sparrow was named after him.

A cute Harris's Sparrow.

Here in Oklahoma we are lucky to get the Harris's Sparrow during the winter. This little guy is hunkered down to stay warm.

The Harris's Sparrow is the largest and heaviest of the sparrows. They do not nest here; they travel to Canada for that. Another tidbit....they get their name from Edward Harris. He was one of John James Audubon’s best friends and most ardent financial supporter. They went on a couple of birding trips together. Harris's bird collection is now on display at the Smith-Cadbury Mansion by the Historical Society of Moorestown, NJ. The collection (on loan from the Academy of Natural Sciences) went on display this past October and will be there until Feb. It would be soooooo awesome to go see that collection!



Merry Christmas

 We had a white Christmas this year. It was fantastic!

This was actually the best Christmas in a few years....Why?

I did not have to work the night before (until 4 am) or the night of Christmas.

 



On my way to 100

Snowy Egret

 

 

We are headed towards our goal of 100 posts for the year. After this post we have nine more to hit the goal. Our original goal was to beat last year’s total, so we already are ahead.

Small town (lucky) charms

My mother and I went on a little day trip. Our mission was to explore a small town and find what treasures it may hold. Needless to say we hit the Mother-load! Ending up in Minco, Oklahoma, we explored downtown, the armory, and a great hardware store named Woodworth's.

 Minco is a small town with a lot of charm. Woodworth's, rumor has it, will be closing their doors for good. I do not know any details about when they will be closing. Walking inside the store you are instantly transported to the past. You can find so many things there. I bought a rolling pin, copper wire, some brass washers, a box of flies (for fly fishing) and other wonderful things.

 

After we were done at the hardware store we traveled to the Armory.

It is a wonderful old building, kind of spooky but I can not tell you why.

 

 

If you get a chance to get out and about think about a trip to Minco. They have a honey fest and craft show every November. During the honey fest they let people go through the honey processing company. There is even a cotton gin that was giving tours the day we were there.

Bewick's Wren...one cute bird!

Oh, check out this cute little guy. He was hopping about as I was filling the feeders this morning. The Bewick's Wrens wait for the peanuts and tree nuts that I put out for them. On tomorrow's menu are a bunch of mealworms! Oh joy, what a tasty treat!

Garden plans for 2013

 So I've started making plans for my 2013 garden and backyard renovation. Having re-pinned a lot of ideas on pinterest I can start mapping out these plans. I figure it will take around five years to make it look the way I want it to. By having this five year plan I can work on it a little at a time..... and not go broke in the process. This planning process is the hardest part!

My first love, of the bird variety.

It's a bit funny to think about my first favorite bird.

It is a tossup between the American Robin and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

My grandmother really enjoyed feeding and watching birds. Working at OU she would often see George M. Sutton around campus and they would talk about birds. Growing up we would spend a lot of time at her house. She fed birds and we were in charge of filling the feeders and washing the bird bath. She lived outside of town. Having had many acres, we spent hours upon hours playing outside. We made forts, tree houses and generally getting very dirty and having a wonderful time. We filled the hummingbird feeders and watched as a lot of hummingbirds consumed the nectar that she had made. My grandmother died several years ago. Her house has been sold twice since her death. The new owners have changed not only the inside but outside of the house as well. My mother has her bird book that she had recorded her sighting and dates. I have her bird bath. When I think of my grandmother (which is everyday) I think of the birds and most often, the hummingbirds.

American Robin

There was a song about a Robin we would sing in elementary school, I don't remember how the song goes. The Robin is easily identifiable and is often associated with spring. Robins, in Oklahoma, are here year round. In the fall and winter I often see Robins with the Cedar Waxwings. Both types of birds are looking for the same kind of food, fruits and invertebrates. I have also seen them at the same water source. When I used to work in my grandmother's garden there would be a Robin sit near and watch the happening.

So what bird is my favorite now?

There is no way to answer that question.

I spend at least 7 hours a day talking about birds and wildlife. I help people decide what feeders, seeds/ food, and nesting boxes will meet their birding needs. Yes it is the best job in the world. I blog, facebook, and tweet about birds and get paid to do so. Sweet! Most Sundays I am out in the field birding....and taking photos.There is no way to pick my favorite bird. It is usually the bird I am seeing through my lense.

Do you know what this is?

Bodark, Horse apple, Osage orange

 

If you know what this is you probably grew up in or around Texas or Oklahoma.We grew up seeing these odd shaped fruits. When you cut this fruit open there are seeds inside. The squirrels LOVE the seeds.

The tree is thorny.

It is used as a wind block.

Bows are made from this tree.

It reminds me of growing up here in Oklahoma



Spring is only months away......

It's kind of wrong for me to say this, but I already miss warmer weather and can't wait until spring. I have so many plans for the garden and re-doing the backyard. But I will wait and keep making my plans.

A Lesser Yellowlegs

Here is a Lesser Yellowleg.

 

 

Now for something completely different:

 

We are working on new rubber stamp samples and should be posting them soon. Our new catalog will be finished early spring. Stores will get our fresh catalog in March/early April. We have a few new tricks up our sleeves...we have been thinking outside the box. We, of course, welcome samples at any time. Monica sent us some great Valentine cards that we will post starting next month. Thank you to everyone for your support this year! You all rock!

Hangin' with the Homies

This Photo was taken at the Great Salt Plains.

Checkered White Butterfly

Here is a Checkered White Butterfly (Pontia protodice). I took this photo this morning....well...it's 2am so I actually took it yesterday morning. It was Dec. 2nd....75 degrees. Wow....I also saw dragonflies. Usually it is a bit chillier this time of year. I do not ever remember seeing butterflies this late in the season.....or maybe I just never noticed.....
Oh, and yes I do need hand cream.

A trio of birds

So here is a trio of birds, an Eastern Bluebird, Goldfinch and a Pine Siskin. What an amazing opportunity to get all three in one shot.

Two Turtle Doves.....okay so they are not Turtle doves

I thought this was a pretty cool pic.

The birds are two doves in a tree near my house.

Gone birding

Totally can not wait to go birding tomorrow...photos to follow....
Oh and there is a pair of Whooping Cranes at Lake Hefner....here in Oklahoma. They may have moved on.

Max and the roaming Buffalo

Want to guess what we saw on Sunday on our little 'tour de Oklahoma'?

My main man Max!

I can not even tell you how much this little boy was so apart of my childhood.

Still my favorite book.....

Always has been always will be!

Thanks Maurice

Blue Jays rock!

 Who would say they hate Blue Jays?

 They apparently don't really know the Blue Jays. Some folks think Jays kill baby birds and eat eggs. Ha....Well "in an extensive study of Blue Jay feeding habits, only 1% of jays had evidence of eggs or birds in their stomachs. Most of their diet was composed of insects and nuts."1

Get to know this awesome bird...and you too will understand when I say Blue Jays ROCK!

1. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/lifehistory

White-breasted Nuthatch

 So, what this nuthatch is doing is wedging this nut into the tree.

He will strike at it and break it open releasing the meat and gobbling it up.

The nuthatches are a sweet little bird. We have the White-breasted Nuthatch year round. We get the Red-breasted Nuthatch in the fall/winter.

Brown Creeper

It was the highlight of my weekend to see this Brown Creeper. They are soooo cute. We only get these cuties in the fall/winter.They move up the tree in search of insects. When it reaches the top it flies to the base of the next tree and works its way up that tree.

American White Pelican

Here are some American White Pelicans. It was a real treat to see them at our local lake.

Catch and release

The name of this stamp is Catch and release. I added color using both Primsacolor pens and watercolor pencils. Glitter was added for highlights. The ribbon is a jute ribbon. I really like this image. It was one of our first images (in our very first catalog).

Where does time go?

Soooooooo.....Where does time go? Well, just ask these clever ravens. All of the images are DP Artworks stamps. These are from our new stamps.

Hawks everywhere

 There are hawks everywhere. We have been seeing a lot of them.

Above is a Red-tailed Hawk. Want to guess how it got this name? They are amazing birds!

Hello

Hello out there..............

Golden-fronted Woodpecker?

So at the Great Salt Plains I saw this woodpecker. At first I thought it was a Red-bellied Woodpecker, but upon closer look I now think it is a Golden-fronted Woodpecker. So what do you think?

Sandhill Cranes in Oklahoma

 This past weekend we made a trip north to the Great Salt Plains State Park and The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. Over the next few days I will be posting photos and info.

 These are Sandhill Cranes. There were hundreds of them flying over head. I am so glad we had a chance to see them.

More tomorrow.............

A hard day's work

This is a stamp featuring the amazing Rosa Parks.

It has two quotes from her.

I am such a fan of water color pencils, and used them on this sample. This was a really easy card to make.

In the park

I love this new image; we called it In the park. This is an oversize card like the previous cards have been. I used prismacolor markers. The prismacolor markers are like Copic markers. They give a nice translucent color that can be layered to add shading. I think I will ask for these for Christmas and build up my collection.